For Archives Only
by Kessie-Louise
Summary: Catching Shadow in G.U.N.'s files, Rouge learns about Maria and wants to know more about her. Little does Rouge know that there's more to the story. From Gerald Robotnik's research notes to Maria's own diary- the truth behind Shadow's relationship with Maria goes far deeper than one would expect at first sight... [Complete][Read & Review]
1. Opinions

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**. . .**

_Hello diary. It's been awhile, I know, and I'm sorry but I have something important that I need to tell you._

_I saw him today._

_Grandfather took me to see the... hybrid today. I've heard Grandfather rave about this creature as if it were the second coming of Jesus. I'll be honest, when I first saw him, I was scared enough that he could have been. Grandfather told me that he will be immortal and will help cure my illness. 'One drop of his blood' was what Grandfather said, 'and you will no longer be sick my dear.'_

_To no longer be sick... the idea is so... tempting. Diary, I rarely tell you about this, but my illness is not from blood or bad genetics- it was caused when I was born. I was born here on the ARK, the first of my kind, but with the first of anything there are always defects. My first few breaths were not easy; natural space dust that happened to be in the ARK got into my young immune system and I couldn't fight back. The doctors were able to contain the pathogens from getting worse, but after a few tests later, they found that I had developed Neuro-Immune Deficiency Syndrome. Basically, in the simplest terms possible, my immune system was so weak that even the common cold could kill me. If I had a simple cough, I may end up coughing up blood- or I may sneeze and it would launch into a splitting migraine that completely blurred my vision._

_Okay, I might be exaggerating a bit, but you get the idea._

_Except for that coughing thing, that actually happened._

_But Grandfather says that 'Shadow' will change all of that. I may even... I may even be able to go to Earth. Whether or not 'Shadow' will be able to cure me with a drop of his blood does not mean I will make him my friend. On the contrary, he will be my enemy. I will never like him._

_Ever._

. . .

…

. . .

"Well you're up late." Rouge smirked to Shadow from behind. The black and red hedgehog jumped a considerable amount in the air as he turned around the computer console.

"Rouge..." Shadow said to the bat darkly, obviously irritated that she had entered without permission. "Can't you go harass someone else? I'm busy."

"You know you can get fired for watching those kind of videos again." Rouge playfully told him with a finger wag.

"I'm not watching any videos!" Shadow told her, nearly wanting to curse her out.

"I'll be the judge of that." Rouge decided as she casually walked up to him, then shoved him out of the way with a rather harsh hip push. Shadow staggered out of the way and grimaced at her as the bat began to read the file he had running. Shadow watched as Rouge's face changed expressions as she read through the file.

"You know," she said, giving him a teasing side glance as she shut the file down, "You can get in trouble for reading a young lady's E-diary too."

"She dead." Shadow replied in dead pan.

"Well, that's even worse!" Rouge told him with a playful little smirk. Shadow rolled his eyes and folded his arms in disgust.

"'Are you leaving now?" Shadow asked her, feeling more impatient as time went on.

"Perhaps." Rouge said, delighting herself a bit with an idea. "Who's Maria?"


	2. Imprinting

Maria was used to getting up at incredibly late times to take medicine that never worked, but Gerald seemed pretty set on taking her somewhere else. Half asleep and half awake, Maria followed her grandfather down rows of hallways that all looked the same to the live specimen room. When Maria realized what she was doing in there and why her grandfather wanted her there so badly, admittedly, Maria's heart sank.

This was where _it_ was being stored.

"There he is Maria," Gerald said, showing the disinterested girl the comatose hedgehog within the status chamber, "Today is the day we will awaken him and he will start curing the incurable!"

"But why did you bring me?" Maria asked with a yawn- whether it was from exhaustion or boredom could be held up for a debate. Gerald sensed this, but shook it off without much thought.

"Project Shadow was developed with you in mind Maria," Gerald told her, expressing so much excitement Maria feared he would pass out, "So, it would only make sense for you to do the honors."

Maria looked up at Gerald's smiling face and grimaced as she started to pull down the lever that would release _it_ from status. Maria and Gerald watched as the cryogenic fluid to keep _it_ in suspended animation drained out of the chamber, then watched as the chamber's glass casing came down as well. Gerald nudged Maria to walk closer to the specimen. Grudgingly, Maria walked forward as the glass casing completed its descent.

The creature inside started to stir and move about as he woke. He felt his head as he tried to walk on wobbling and less controlled legs. The creature tried to move forward, but tripped. Maria, out of instinct and not voluntarily, reached out to catch the creature before he fell to the ground. Drowsily, the creature looked up at her and gave a rather distinct smile before closing his eyes again. Maria stared at the creature with mixed feelings now.

Hate was a strong word, but she still didn't like him.

. . .

**From the Desk of Gerald Robotnik**

**Date: Omitted**

**Subject: Imprinting Failure?**

**Text:**

_Perhaps I made an error on Shadow and Maria's imprinting. Not with Shadow, who imprinted as according to plan, but with Maria. To think of it, I have made many miscalculations on Maria's response to Shadow. If the imprinting had worked properly, Maria would have taken Shadow's wakening a lot differently than what she had. She seemed distant and did not care much. Perhaps I will ask her later on her feelings on Shadow, but for now we must extract a portion of Shadow's blood and inject it into Maria to see how it effects her condition._

_Earlier tests have proven that Shadow could be the key to improve Maria's condition. But the girl's body is far more complex than the body of a mere Rattus norvegicus- as I have now learned the hard way, it may take several rounds of this new 'medication' to become effective, but the lifetime rewards would be more substantial if all goes well._

_However, if Maria was not able to imprint on Shadow, could she also reject his blood as well?_

. . .

"Who's Maria?" Rouge asked with a completely innocent, yet still mischievous, smile. Shadow grimaced.

"No one that effects you." Shadow told her.

"But if she didn't know you, maybe I wouldn't have known you." Rouge reasoned, "Therefore, it _does_ effect me when you think about it."

Shadow shook his head and groaned in displeasure. Although Rouge didn't know it, she had a completely valid point. But it wasn't going to allow him to tell her anything at the moment because he didn't feel like it, nor was he going to let her bully him into saying it.

"There's a computer right there," Shadow pointed out, "You can find out yourself. I'm going to bed."

"Alright." Rouge said with a shrug. "Good night."

Shadow grimaced before taking his leave. Rouge watched him with a particular little smirk before taking a glance at the computer console. She _could_ go through the files GUN had on whoever this Maria chick was, but where was the fun in that?

Pestering Shadow always got better results any way.

. . .

Maria watched as her grandfather did some final diagnostics on the creature. Finally and fully awake, the _thing_ looked at her with piercing red eyes as Gerald ran the tests needed to know that the creature could roam freely. The longer the creature stared at her, the more Maria started to feel sympathetic... or scared. She couldn't discern from the two at the time.

"Now," Gerald then said as he concluded the creature's tests and went to get a syringe, "Please watch closely, you two, after this run you will be monitoring the process on your own. Understand?"

Maria nodded, but a look on the creature's face illustrated that he was not satisfied with such a simple gesture.

"Understood Professor." the creature spoke in a voice that was low and nearly toneless. To hear a voice like that coming out of the creature, it made Maria jump a little in surprise. The creature saw her reaction and smirked a bit as if the display had amused him.


	3. Improvement

The syringe that held Shadow's blood was clear, thus you were able to tell what color the blood happened to be. The blood of the hybrid hedgehog was not red like Maria's, it appeared to be almost black, but when induced to direct light, it would become silver. When it was time to be injected with his blood again (twice a day, her grandfather claimed, until changes occurred) Maria chose to stare at the odd liquid as it entered her own bloodstream than to look away as she would have normally done with a generic vaccine. Shadow, who now became the one to extract his blood and inject it into her, took notice of Maria's interest.

"Does the needle hurt?" Shadow asked her. "Is that why you always look at it when you are being injected?"

At first Maria did not answer- being injected with Shadow's blood was like receiving a heavy dose of heroine. Maria wasn't even sure if she was breathing properly enough to even talk at all. And this process was done twice a day!

Maria's eyelids fluttered closed as her eyes rolled to the top of her head. Was this working? It sure didn't seem like it. Maria groaned as the euphoria of Shadow's blood started to wear off into pain from the injection point. Shadow watched her with very little expression on his face as her breathing slowly started to become regular again.

"Go..." she mumbled to him in a weak voice. "I don't... need you... anymore..."

Shadow titled his head curiously at her. He did not go away, instead he picked her up by slinging one her arms around him, then he dragged her to her bed where he laid her down softly and with care. Drowsily, and still a bit high, Maria gave Shadow a less than thankful glare.

"Go... away..." she moaned. The creature looked at her blankly, then said a phrase that she hoped she had misheard before he took his leave;

"I love you."

. . .

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**. . .**

_Hello Diary, you'll never believe this, but I... I feel _good_. It's been about two weeks since Grandfather allowed Shadow to inject a bit of his blood into mine. Grandfather has been running tests on my own blood a few hours after every injection, and he has confirmed that I am now able to resist chicken pox. You know what that means, right? It means that my immune system is getting stronger. Grandfather said that I will only need one dosage of Shadow's blood now on instead of two. But... although two weeks ago I would have wanted anything in the world to get rid of him sooner, now I do not feel that way._

_I... I don't understand Diary. Is it because I've literally become addicted to him, or do I... do I like him?_

_Diary... if that's the case... I'm scared._

_. . ._

**From the Desk of Gerald Robotnik**

**Date: Omitted**

**Subject: Dreamers**

**Text:**

_Maria's condition is improving at quite an amazing rate! If all goes well, within the next three to five years, Maria will be able to go to Earth and be able to experience life as a normal girl. No one would know who she is though, considering that she was born here on the ARK, but creating and/or forging documents is a lot easier when you have the right connections._

_On the note of Shadow and Maria's relationship, I do believe it has improved as well. On Maria's part, I believe transference is to be called on. Or, perhaps the simple act of his blood going into her has created a symbiotic relationship that they are both aware of. Another, more symbolic, theory would be that Shadow's blood is not needed for the recovery of Maria's health. Maybe they only needed each other this entire time, and that is what caused a possibly tiny spike in Maria's condition that may or may not diminish over time._

_Dreamers do not improve science, I'm afraid._

. . .

Rouge held the printed paper to Shadow as if it were undeniable evidence of a cold blooded murder. The bat even had the knowing smirk that it could have been. Shadow was not as amused, however, since Rouge was basically hanging out his dirty laundry that could have been found by anyone at any time.

"So, let's get this straight," Rouge entertained, "If I wanted to get really high without getting busted for it later, I could just make you bleed and drink it from a shot glass?"

Although Rouge was merely joking (almost), Shadow's emotionless face did not even twitch. Not enough to satisfy Rouge, that is. Without a word, Shadow turned to leave- something that Rouge was not going to let him do.

"Come back sweetie, I'm not making fun of you yet!"

In a blink of the eye, Shadow had turned around and was holding Rouge in a rather tight choke hold.

"When you get to the part were an innocent girl is murdered, then you can come 'make fun' of me." Shadow threatened as he held Rouge's neck tight enough that she started to gasp for air. "Got it?!"

Rouge nodded as well as she could. Shadow let go of her and turned on his heel to run as fast as he could away from the situation. Rouge looked at him bitter and slightly angered.


	4. En Pointe

The dusted pink pointe shoes were from a time when she thought she was able to do anything. She was still sick then, obviously, but maybe less sick at that time. She only stopped dancing because her own sweat killed vital white blood cells. Don't ask her why or how, that's what the doctors on the ARK told her, and at the time she was young enough that she didn't even question it.

Now though...

Out of curiosity, Maria got the pointe shoes down from the shelf and sat down to put them on. They still fit. Then, with a skill marked for masters, Maria crossed the ribbons together before wrapping the rest smugly around her ankle. Maria looked around her room for something to help her back up again. The closest object was her desk, so she got herself up again and mused herself in flexing and pointing her feet to admire how the pointe shoes looked on her feet once more after years of inactivity. The canvas of the shoes slid a bit on the steel floor, but it bother Maria and it had brought back good memories. From here on out, the floor was ice and she was the ice fairy sent to chill the raging waters on Earth for the winter.

Wait!

Where was that one dress that made her feel like a princess?!

The idea hit Maria with much excitement that she almost slipped when she ran to her dresser to find the tulle-nightmare dress that made every movement she made seem like she was leaving behind a light breeze in her wake. The loved the dress to pieces, even when the static built up and ended up clinging to her legs.

Maria looked at herself in the mirror, and she smiled at herself as she even set to make a messy hair bun for herself. After that had been accomplished, Maria ran out of her room as if she was five years old again and wanted everyone in the vacancy to know that she was Princess Maria, Dancing Ice Queen of All That Freezes. In her happiness, Maria passed by a window that had a fairly good view of Earth below them. She stopped to look at it and smiled. Now she was a rising prima ballerina in a grand dance troupe that held summer concerts in large, beautiful amphitheaters where crowds gather to see her, Maria, and would throw roses at her feet to show their admiration.

You want an encore? Well, but of course! What's that? Act Two of the Nutcracker? The Dance of the Reed Pipes? But of course, anything for such grand admirers as yourself!

. . .

**From the Desk of Gerald Robotnik**

**Date: Omitted**

**Subject: It's Been a Long Time...**

**Text:**

_At first, I thought I was mistaken. But when I saw her smile, I knew at once that I certainly was not going mad._

_Maria was dancing again._

_So fluently too, it was quite surprising for me to see her on her toes again. There was no music playing for her as she simply flitted around like a little fairy-child, but whatever world she was in certainly made her happy. Never, in such a long time, have I seen Maria so happy. The sight of her smile almost made me smile right back at her._

_Shadow happened to be with me so a few other colleagues and I could further study the root of his blood and what part is the healing properties set to potentially save the world. Although wired to many different devices, Shadow stared at Maria then turned to me to inquire what she was doing. I explained to him that she was dancing, a pastime she had to give up about three years ago due to a severe decline in her health. In an act that rather interested me, Shadow gave a biological reaction, but did not show any emotion physically. Then Shadow asked me a question that I was sure he had already knew;_

_How long has she been sick?_

_Admittedly, I did not know where to start. I even tried to have one of my colleagues answer for me, but they had all chosen to go silent then. I distinctly remember rubbing the bridge of my nose as I let out a heavy sigh._

_I informed Shadow that it has been a long time, and it was likely that Maria could not remember a time when she was completely healthy. Again, Shadow responded to the news biologically but gave no indication physically._

_Perhaps this phenomenon needs a lot more investigation that what I first thought..._

. . .

Maria couldn't remember the last time she felt this great as she twirled down the hallway en pointe. Happily dizzy, Maria didn't even notice someone else was in the hallway until she ended up tripping over them. Still feeling dizzy, Maria laughed as she looked at the one she had tripped over. When she saw who it was, her smile instantly became a frown. His burning red eyes did not hold any shame even though it was obvious that he had tripped her.

"Why did you stop laughing?" Shadow asked her.

"I tripped." Maria told him. Oddly enough, although her vision had returned, she still felt lightheaded. Shadow then got really close to her without much warning. It sent a rather distinct shiver up her back as those horrible red eyes glared into hers.

"Your nose is bleeding." Shadow then informed her. Maria raised an eyebrow, not sure whether to believe him at first. Regardless, she put two fingers to the base of her nose and found that it was. It took Maria a moment, but then she realized why she still felt dizzy. It wasn't because she was happy, it was an indication that something was wrong.


	5. Exceptions

"Hold still." the nurse instructed Maria with a light Southern accent. Maria did as she was told as the nurse looked at her nose, then gently pinched it to see if anything happened. Shadow and Gerald looked on without much to say or do. Gerald could not hide his concern for his granddaughter, but Shadow did not show any emotion.

"Hemorrhage in the posterior nasal cavity," the nurse then said, talking more to Gerald than to Maria. "Not a lot to be concerned about, her blood pressure must've spiked pretty quickly- considering she seems to be doing well now since everything has calmed down a bit. How you feel now hun?"

"Can I have some water?" Maria warily asked.

"'Course!" the nurse agreed as she turned around to get a small paper cup and fill it with water from a nearby hand sink. Maria thanked the nurse as she handed the cup to her, and the girl drank it as if it were the last drops she had in the middle of the desert.

"Thanks." she then said in a single breath.

"Remember Maria," the nurse then told her, "If you have any aches or pains, come see me _immediately_. Understand?"

"Yes ma'am."

. . .

**From the Desk of Gerald Robotnik**

**Date: Omitted**

**Subject: Exceptions**

**Text:**

_In light of a rather benign episode with Maria, I feel it's time to elaborate more on the imprinting process she and Shadow were supposed to have shared._

_You see, Shadow has the ability to choose to imprint on those who may need his care. Considering that he must share a part of himself with a possible stranger, it seems to be a rather viable way of going about it. Imprinting creates a bond between Shadow and his possible charge, and over time as the patient in question starts to recover, Shadow is able to sever the bond between himself and whomever he bonded with._

_But there is an exception to this rule._

_This exception goes back to when we first brought Shadow into the world. I allowed Maria to be the first one to let him out of the status chamber with the process of Shadow's imprint on her in mind. Since she was the first he was able to imprint on, their bond together is much stronger and may never diminish- as a byproduct of this, Shadow is able to sense Maria biologically and will receive an inner distress signal if she is in serious jeopardy health wise. Within minutes of receiving this distress signal, Shadow would be within close enough proximity of Maria that he could help her._

_This was why I was disappointed to find that Maria did not appear to bond with Shadow after imprinting- whether she likes it or not, he's the key to her health and safety. I even thought that, for a minute, perhaps a psychological link between the two would ease the process of exchanging blood- a subject and idea not many are too keen about. But, as I am learning throughout this entire experience: I am, and have been, wrong._

. . .

Maria watched Shadow as he stabbed himself with the syringe, then slowly start to extract roughly 0.5 CC of his own blood.

"Does it hurt when you do that?" Maria asked, not completely intending to say it out loud. Shadow gave her a rather dull expression as he wiped the excess blood off the tip.

"Does it hurt when I stick the needle in you?" he inquired back. Maria shrugged as she offered her wrist for him to prepare for the injection.

"Some times." Maria admitted.

"Then there you go," Shadow then decreed, "Your answer is my own."

Maria lulled over this thought as Shadow then drove the needle into her wrist. The girl let out a sigh as the euphoria kicked in for several minutes, then passed away like a soft rainstorm in summer. There wasn't a lot of pain this time either. Maybe she was just had to get used to it...?

All the while, Shadow looked at her.

"Do you like me?" he then asked, sounding as if he were thinking out loud than actually asking Maria a question. Perhaps he didn't mean to say it out loud to begin with, considering Shadow now looked like he wanted to take back what he had said.

"Well... I need you." Maria told him.

"That's not what I said." Shadow replied in an emotionless voice. 'And I'm not repeating it either' was the phrase that floated through both of their minds but went unsaid.

"I..." Maria started to say, unsure of how to answer, "I dunno... maybe, I guess. I never really..."

Before she could say another word, Shadow unexpectedly moved forward and gave her a small kiss on the lips. The human girl's first reaction was to shove him away. Maria gave Shadow a rather hard, unfriendly glare as she took a rough hold of his shoulders. Shadow looked rather confused but hid behind a mask of indifference as he stared back at her, almost challenging her to make her move.

Shadow stole her first kiss, so Maria was going to take his.


	6. Differences

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**. . .**

_He kissed me._

_That freak I said I'd always hate, that moron who made a dive for me when I didn't even finish my sentence, that absolute fool who decided to watch me overdose on his own blood while he stared back with those dumb, burning red irises!_

_He kissed me!_

_He kissed me._

_He kissed me..._

. . .

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**. . .**

_I can't sleep._

_I blame him._

_I'm gonna start blaming him for a lot of things from here on out. The kiss, the euphoria, those eyes you can feel burning on the back of your skull no matter how far away he is..._

_Why? Why did he decide to do that? What gave him the right to even begin to fathom that maybe, I could have liked it. I don't even know if I like him back..._

_I don't know. I need to sleep. I'm going to be exhausted in the morning. Several people are not going to be happy tomorrow when I pass out and they find it's from a lack of sleep. Shadow will likely be one of them. Maybe he'll carry me back to bed like an overly drunk bride on her honeymoon. That would be interesting, but I'm not going to push it. Because, again, someone's going to be upset with me if I pass out from exhaustion tomorrow._

. . .

Rouge gave Shadow a look that was both amused and slightly disgusted. Shadow still looked unamused.

"You kissed a girl..." Rouge started to say in a tone that was unsure as her expression, "And she didn't like you back?"

Shadow did not answer, and only gave the bat a hard look.

"How is it any different than what you do?" Shadow then said to her in disgust.

"Gender, but sometimes it's a mental thing." Rouge claimed. "You were the first that never gave me a reaction."

Then an idea shot though Rouge's mind like a bullet.

"You still love her!" she exclaimed, unable to keep the revelation quiet.

"So what if I do?" Shadow demanded. "We have a mind like they do, we have free will like they do, we have all the rights in the world like they do. Hell Rouge, we have the same goddamn _emotions_ they do! Why can't I still love her? Why can't I get her memory out of my rotting skull? Why did she have to die from a mortal wound, and _I'm_ the one that can live forever? Why the _hell_ do I feel like I can still sense her alive out there somewhere when I know she is not?! Can you answer that for me, Rouge? Can you?!"

Rouge took a step back in surprise and said nothing.

"I..." she started to say, but soon found that the words were stuck. "I... I think the... the, uh, Commander wanted to... to, um, see me..."

With that, the bat left as quickly as she could away from Shadow. The hedgehog himself looked as if he was about to commit murder. Without a second thought, Shadow spun around and hit the wall behind him as hard as he could.

Bones could heal, but a fractured heart is not as lucky.


	7. Abraham

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**. . .**

_I've been alive for almost fourteen years now, and I think it's rather obvious since being in space and all, that having other kids on the ARK are slim to none. There was one kid, though, who came in about five years ago with his parents. His name was Abraham, I think, Abraham Tower. If I remember correctly, his parents had earned this major internship or something- his father was a mechanist sent to study the ARK's artificial air sources, and his mother was a pediatrician sent to study me over a period of time. Their presence here was not meant to be a very long one, but I don't think Abraham ever completely understood that._

_It was up until recently, when Grandfather had me wake up Shadow, that the Tower family lived here. They left the night before Shadow woke up, and the thought that Abraham had no idea that his family's living conditions were not permanent shown through rather obviously through the kid's confusion. Amidst this confusion, Abraham admitted that he had grown attached to me. He started saying some things that I didn't quite hear and he even tried to kiss me._

_I slapped him._

_At the time, I thought I was using a well controlled voice- thinking back on it now though... I think it's safe to say I know why he ended up crying._

_But I didn't like him. On the contrary, I hated him more than I do Shadow. Abraham Tower always acted like he had just come off the export ship from Pleasure Island. And by that, I mean he was an ass. He was rude, inconsiderate, and lied to everyone about anything. His parents found him precious and didn't correct him; once he pitch-pocketed a scientist that was involved in Project Shadow and succeeded in getting some kind of DNA sample of something. Abraham then went to every corner of the ARK declaring himself the 'Immortal King of Aliens' as if he had won the Olympics. Someone heard about this and went straight to his parents in a fury. Their reaction? They laughed. I'm not joking, I heard that they straight out laughed and claimed that he was only joking around. No one was amused._

_So, although I feel a bit bad about making him cry in a day of pure confusion for him, I don't feel bad for slapping him. I like Shadow more than I did Abraham, so I let Shadow be the one to take my first kiss. Abraham, on the other hand, can go as far away from me as possible and stay there._

**. . .**

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	8. Protector

_She talked in her sleep._

_Not all the words she would say were distinguishable, but there was that one word she said without question. She would say it in a single breath, as if it were her last._

_Shadow._

_Shadow._

_Shadow._

_It was my name. She would say _my_ name in her sleep while all other words couldn't be understood. In a way, at the time, it validated me. It gave me a sense of purpose and what I stood for._

_My job was to keep her safe. My job was to keep her alive._

_But I failed._

_I failed Maria._

_I failed the professor._

_I failed myself._

. . .

Maria woke up late into the day and saw Shadow staring at her like a dead corpse. Surprised, and imagining for a moment something much worse than Shadow there, Maria let out a scream that nearly broke Shadow's ears as she threw her covers back over her head. Watching her with a partially amused grin, Shadow took in a bit of delight as the human girl started to kick and flail under the covers as she spat rather colorful words once heard from the ARK's scientists. Shadow waited a few moments for Maria to cease most of her spaz attack, took a step back, then leaped on top of her to hold her down. In a swift motion, Shadow uncovered Maria and tossed her blanket to the floor.

"Hello." he said to her after successfully pinning her down on the bed. Maria found out all too quickly that Shadow was stronger than her, but that didn't stop her from struggling nonetheless.

"Get off of me!" Maria demanded. Shadow gave her a smirk while giving a rather indifferent shrug.

"Anything you want." Shadow told her as he rolled off. Maria shook him off and got out of her bed in disgust.

"Now get out of my bed!" Maria then told Shadow with an irritated voice.

"I don't know..." Shadow said to her as he started to get comfortable. "Now I know why you talk in your sleep. This bed is _really_ hard. How do you even sleep on this thing?"

Maria opened her mouth to retort back, but the door to her room opened to reveal Gerald, who was searching for the girl.

"Maria, there you are!" Gerald said before realizing that Shadow was also in the room. "And Shadow, this concerns you as well."

"Good afternoon professor." Shadow told Gerald quite pleasantly.

"The same to you as well." Gerald agreed, forgetting for a moment the reason why he was searching for Maria. When he remembered, he shook his head and turned to look at her before saying, "Maria, why aren't you dressed yet? A small handful of members from GUN have arrived to review your progress within Project Shadow, you need to be ready to greet them in a few moments."

"I didn't even know they were coming." Maria told her grandfather as she started to feel confused with a small mixture of anger.

"You weren't informed of this at your last check up?" Gerald asked her, feeling a bit confused as well. But he shook his head again. "That doesn't matter now, please use some haste and get dressed as soon as possible. It won't sit well with them, but I'll greet them at the dock and you can join us in the live specimen room when you're ready."

"Yes Grandfather." Maria agreed before her father left the room. The human girl then turned to the hedgehog.

"You're not going to leave... are you?" she asked in a soft, angered tone. Shadow's only reply was a smirk.

. . .

**From the Desk of Gerald Robotnik**

**Date: Omitted**

**Subject: G.U.N.**

**Text:**

_The current Commander of the Guardian Units of Nations came for a visit today, along with half of his men it seemed like. Somehow, information that 'the fruit of Project Shadow' was sharing 'vital DNA' with a 'hapless youth' aboard the ARK, and it warranted the Commander to come to see for himself what was going on. In layman's terms, GUN isn't amused that I've been using Shadow's blood to help cure Maria's Neuro-Immune Deficiency Syndrome. Not that they particularly care, if it wasn't for the DNA used that helped create Shadow to begin with, I'm sure no one would have batted an eyelash._

_Admittedly, I've been holding back a lot of information about Shadow's creation that what I would like. Especially to Maria and Shadow. In order to allow a creation that is immortal, but able to also be biologically similar to the living creatures on Earth, Project Shadow required some... alien concepts. Years ago, before Maria was born, an alien called Black Doom came to Earth and caused world spread devastation. GUN was -barely- able to retain him long enough to send him back from whatever world he came from. In part of some negotiation they made, Black Doom had left behind a part of his DNA for GUN to study. With some time, the ARK was lifted into the air and Maria was the first child born in space, the effects of that experiment are what we see today. Project Shadow was started shortly after Maria was diagnosed, and although the idea was proposed to GUN as a development in war arms, my main goal was to cure my granddaughter. It wasn't until recently GUN realized my true intentions. And they are not happy about it._

_I've been warned by the Commander himself that if the rumors of my meddling are held true, then Project Shadow will be terminated by any means necessary._

_Personally, the Commander can kiss my ass._


	9. Terminated

The Commander had many faces, Gerald could sense that much, but it was still prominent that the Commander was irritated by Maria's late absence.

"You claimed your granddaughter would be here in ten minutes Professor Robotnik," the Commander said in a cold voice. "It has almost been twenty, where is she?"

"She'll be arriving shortly." Gerald replied with a nervous chuckle. "Any moment, really."

"Are you telling me you have no control over a simple girl?" the Commander then asked, speaking as if his words were knives designed to cut Gerald like a weed. But Gerald had much tougher skin, and the Commander's argument made the old man flare with anger.

"I'll have you know," Gerald started to say, his tone raising with authority, "Maria is a steadfast and determined young lady who knows her place. If you think for a moment that I do not-"

"Hello." came a small voice from the door, perfectly ending the verbal fight between the Commander and Gerald. "I'm sorry I'm late. Finding clothes acceptable enough for someone in such high honor as the Commander was more trouble than it needed to be."

"Maria!" Gerald said with an angered tone, although he was actually quite relieved. The Commander said nothing as he looked at Maria as if she were an alien.

"So you are Maria Robotnik?" the Commander asked in a firm voice. The girl nodded as she walked forward to give him a handshake. Shadow was close behind her, much to the Commander's surprise.

"Dear god!" the Commander exclaimed as he jumped back in surprise. "What the hell is that thing?!"

"The 'fruit' of Project Shadow, sir." Gerald said, giving the Commander a satisfied smirk. "This is Shadow, the Ultimate Lifeform. He is immune to any long range attack, can live forever, and his blood is able to heal any given disease- including Neuro-Immune Deficiency Syndrome."

The Commander looked at Gerald, then turned his gaze from Shadow, to Maria, and to Shadow again.

"Beginning tomorrow, Project Shadow is to be terminated." the Commander then instructed. He kept his gaze at Shadow before adding, "Including the death of... that."

"Never!" Gerald hollered.

"But Professor," the Commander than said smoothly, "I gave you the terms of my arrival, and you just said what I wanted to hear. Not that I needed it, my men were able to find and go through all of your research notes. Everything you wrote about Project Shadow is now property of GUN, as was the DNA of Black Doom before it. The time has come to take back what was rightfully ours, even if we must do it forcefully!"

Gerald let out a low growl in anger. Coming from the shadows, two GUN agents stepped forward and escorted the professor, Maria, and Shadow out of the room.

"You idiot!" Gerald then shouted as he whipped around to beat on the door. "Do you have any idea what you're going to do? Without Shadow, Maria will never be healed!"

Perfectly seething in his anger, Gerald turned around to face Maria and Shadow. Gerald's guard fell when he saw both of them give him the same emotionless face.

"You are hiding information from us professor." Shadow said in a low voice, speaking a thought both he and Maria were thinking. Gerald frantically looked from Shadow to Maria before letting out a discontented sigh.

"Where do I begin?" Gerald asked as he started to rub his temples in thought.

"The beginning would be pleasant enough." Shadow told him. Gerald looked at the hybrid creature that never should have existed, and gave a nod.

. . .

**A.R.K. Virtual Archives [External Back-Up Restore Sourcing]**

**Accessing File: [REDACTED]**

**Author: Maria Robotnik**

**Special Permissions: Not Required**

**Last Access Date: [REDACTED]**

**Accessed By: G.U.N. Headquarters; Agent ID R0-U93**

**Permission Granted**

**Loading...**

**Loading...**

**Loading...**

**File Successfully Loaded**

**. . .**

_Emotions. _

_I was always told that our emotions are nothing more than chemicals in our brain. _

_Once there was a neuroscientist on the ARK that came to study me and work on Project Shadow before Shadow woke up who once said to me that our brains could be manipulated because of those chemicals. With a single additive chemical introduced to the functioning brain, according to the neuroscientist, someone could be influenced to go on stage when they would have severe stage fright, or they could find themselves attracted to a certain gender or object for no apparent reason._

_Imprinting, in other words._

_At first, after Grandfather had explained to Shadow and I that we are connected through an invisible link, I didn't really care. That was before Shadow asked an interesting question that I didn't even think of;_

_Does that mean that his emotions were not his own? Did this mean that he had been manipulated into thinking that he really did have... higher feelings toward me?_

_Grandfather did not confirm nor deny the idea, and at first, Shadow didn't seem to react. Then, in a speed I wasn't aware he had, Shadow turned around and started to run. I started to go after him, but Grandfather stopped me as he had this really cold look on._

_'Let him figure it out' Grandfather told me in a voice I did not recognize. With some defiance, I stopped trying to get out of his grip and stood still._

_Shadow didn't need to 'figure it out', he needed a friend._


	10. Gone

If it was made out of steel, Shadow punched it.

If it was made out of glass or porcelain, Shadow threw it.

If any human, male or female, passed him, Shadow growled at them.

This was a rampage of an experiment gone wrong. This was a temper tantrum that would end all tantrums. This was what it was like to think that you knew everything in your life, only to find out that it was all fabricated to save one girl's life. Your feelings for her, your thoughts for her, your motivations to keep seeking her out- all a lie by her aging grandfather's wistful desire.

Now she needed him, and as much as he wanted to ignore the call Shadow found himself walking the path back to her bedroom. He knocked on her door with a grimace while grinding his teeth together. Maria opened the door and looked down at him.

"Shadow...!" she remarked as if she was afraid of him. Although he had found it odd, it wasn't the only thing he noticed about her; Maria's face was very nearly drained of all color, almost as if something was going horribly wrong within her body and it was rapidly making her condition worse.

"They said he went down this way." someone said from down the corridor. Without a moment to question, Maria pulled Shadow into her room, quickly closed the door as softly as she could, then threw Shadow at her bed.

"What the _hell_ is your-" Shadow started to say, but Maria clasped her hand over his mouth just as someone knocked on her door. Giving him a rather sympathetic look, Maria pulled one of her coverlet over Shadow's body and went to get the door.

"Have you seen Shadow?" someone asked Maria at the door after she had opened it.

"No." Maria told them, a small hint in her voice suggesting that she was lying. The person at the door did not pick up on this, but Shadow sure did.

"Thank you madam." the person at the door told Maria. "Are you... are you feeling well?"

"I have Neuro-Immune Deficiency Syndrome." Maria said to the person in a flat tone.

"Oh, I see." the person then said. "Good day then."

"You too." Maria agreed as Shadow heard her close the door again. Shadow took the coverlet off of his body and saw a rather worn out Maria wipe her eyebrow in relief. With a heavy sigh, Maria looked up at Shadow and started to walk over to him as if she was in a dream. She did not look good at all, and Shadow knew she wasn't doing good either.

"Shadow..." Maria mumbled as she leaned on the edge of her bed in exhaustion. The girl's body sagged as she slowly started to close her eyes. Reacting quickly, Shadow got off her bed, set her on it, then got out a needle from inside a drawer on her bedside table. The hybrid stabbed himself with the needle and extracted his blood to give to Maria.

"Shadow..." Maria groaned, "You need to... you need to run."

"You need to rest." Shadow told her simply enough. Maria looked at him with a pained expression as she slowly started to take his hand.

"Run." she told him. "Run to Earth where they can't catch you. You must..."

"You need me." Shadow told her. "I'm not going anywhere without you."

Maria looked at Shadow sadly, but he wasn't going to leave her behind either. Carefully, Shadow picked her up and started to head out the door.

"What are you doing?" she asked him in a dull tone as she strained to keep her eyes open.

"_We_ are going to Earth."

. . .

**From the Desk of Gerald Robotnik**

**Date: Omitted**

**Subject: Gone**

**Text:**

_Gone. Maria is... gone._

_At first... at first I thought both of them escaped upon seeing the pod depart. But... but I was wrong. I saw her laying there in a pool of blood. GUN... they did not let me come close as a few men carried her away like... like a dead pig! I have no idea what they did with her harmless, dying body. If I find that they dare touch her or harm her in any other way- her blood will not be the only thing spread on the cold ARK floor!_

_Maria..._

_Don't worry my dear, your life will not be forgotten easily..._

. . .

_**Special Permissions Report for G.U.N. Commander Numan**_

**[Human female with alien DNA inclosed in status chamber on board A.R.K.]**

**[Current status: KEEP ALIVE]**

**[Authorization: COMMANDER ONLY]**

**[Password: ENCRIPTED FOR PRIVACY]**

**[Related Files/Folders: PROJECT SHADOW, GERALD ROBOTNIK, SHADOW]**

**[Permission From Adjacent Files/Folders: NOT GRANTED]**

_**Special Permissions Report: Creation Date: 50 years ago**_

_**Special Permissions Report: Last Access Date: Two days ago**_

_**Special Permissions Report: Accessed by: Commander Tower**_

. . .

Rouge walked slowly and carefully up to Shadow. He knew full well she was there, but said nothing.

"I... I'm sorry." the bat muttered, averting her gaze to everything that wasn't Shadow. "I... I crossed a few lines."

"A few?" Shadow mused, giving Rouge a less than amused sideglance.

"Funny timing too, really." Rouge told him. "The Commander stationed us on a mission to go on the ARK. Something about an 'interesting specimen' left on the ship that someone over looked. Do you think you'll be up for it?"

Shadow looked at Rouge with an unreadable stare.

"Let's get it over with." he told her before they headed out. "And, Rouge?"

"Yes?"

"Never mention her again. Got it?"

"Your wish is my command."


End file.
